Read it Again: Week of Feb. 14, 2001

80 years ago this week. The Capper-Volstead cooperative marketing bill passed the U.S. Senate “in precisely the form asked.” It had been passed by the House nearly a year ago, but a Senate substitute had been pending. The bill passed by a vote of 58 to 1. Although President Harding’s administration supported the substitute bill, it is expected the president will sign the new bill. The bill will legalize cooperative marketing associations for agriculture, which have been impossible under existing laws.

The Mahoning County Fair made plans to erect an 86-by-100 foot livestock arena in time for the 1922 fair. It will include a show ring 28 feet wide and seating for about 570 people.

50 years ago this week. The Columbiana County Farm Bureau advisory council at its first meeting has recommended that the Congress cut appropriations of the statistical reporting service of the USDA by 50 percent. The action followed an attack by former county Grange deputy Will Morris on the hundreds of new federal employes being added to the public payroll weekly.

Morris specifically assailed federal waste through mailings of meaningless questionnaires. He read from one bulletin in which the farmer was asked questions on numbers and kinds of hay balers, total quantity baled, quantity of wire or twine used, and other equipment on the farm. “It isn’t any of their business the amount and type of machinery I have on my farm,” Morris charged, adding that the majority of monthly reports received by farmers are valueless except for scrap paper.

25 years ago this week. Backed by extensive field testing of prototypes, a Colorado firm has introduced its new Hydratiller, said to be the first and only fully hydrostatic 4-wheel drive tractor on the market. The 350 to 600 hp tractor has no clutch, gear-drive transmission, transfer case or drive lines. Price tag for the custom built Hydratillers, fully equipped with a Cummins diesel engine, ranges from $68,000 to $128,000.